Chapter 52: That Greater, Infinite Thing

The water of the bath tub was a light pink color.

A pair of blood-stained scissors was lying next to the tub, opened to use the blade portion.

Curled up against the back end of the tub was Weiss Schnee. She was bleeding from one wrist. Upon closer inspection, it was shown to Ruby that the blood was coming from a small cut on one of her wrists. She hadn't completely cut across her lower hand. Instead, it looked like she stopped less than a fourth of the way through. The blood coming out wasn't from her artery.

Only that much was fortunate.

Weiss was shaking uncontrollably, and her face looked much paler than normal. Her appearance was almost gaunt, and her eyes looked sunken into her skull.

"Wei… W-Weiss?" Ruby barely managed to squeak out at the sight.

The sunken eyes leveled their gaze at Ruby. "O-oh… you're b-back…" was Weiss' hoarse whisper.

Ruby had to will herself to move forward, towards the horrifying visage. Every fiber of her being screamed to her that all of this was wrong, and this should have never happened. Regardless, she had to do something.

Behind Ruby, Yang and Blake looked into the bathroom. "Hey, are you…" Yang's question drifted off as she witnessed the same sight as Ruby. Both her and Blake were frozen in place, absolutely floored at what happened under what was supposed to be their watch.

Tension held in the air as Ruby shuffled her way towards the form of Weiss. It was so surreal, and Ruby almost couldn't believe this was happening. Her rational mind kept on telling her it was indeed real, but every other part of her was insisting that all of this was just a horrible, horrible dream.

Reaching the edge of the tub, Ruby unceremoniously slumped to her knees. She hesitantly reached out towards Weiss' face, as if she was unsure if the heiress was an illusion or not. Weiss' presence was confirmed by Ruby as she felt her trembling face.

"Y-you're scaring me…" was all Ruby could say right now. Her voice quaked at the sight of Weiss' failed suicide attempt.

"I'm r-really scared, too," Weiss croaked in agreement. She looked positively haunted by what she had just tried to accomplish.

That was all it took for Ruby to grab Weiss, still naked and wet, into a tight hug. "Why?! Why did you do that?!" the cloaked girl couldn't help but ask.

"I'm so afraid…" Weiss choked out in a low whisper. It was painfully obvious that she was trying to hold back her tears.

Ruby began to cry uncontrollably, with mucus dripping from her nose, and her breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Weiss began to cry too, and wrapped her arms around Ruby, clinging onto her like a small child does to its favorite stuffed toy. Both of their crying grew louder and louder, until Weiss managed to say something through her agonized sobs.

"I'm so *gasp* sorry! *gasp* I'm so fucking sorry!" she desperately apologized.

"I should've helped *hic* you more!" Ruby cried out in response.

"I just missed you *hic* and I wanted *huff* you so bad *pant* and I want my mama *gasp* and I regret it!" the crying heiress poured out.

"I…" Ruby couldn't even finish what she was going to say. Her tears prevented her from saying anything more. Instead, she held Weiss closer against her chest. Ruby didn't want to let Weiss go for anything else.

All the while, all Blake and Yang could do was stare at what was unfolding in front of them. The both of them couldn't help but cry too. Yang dove into Blake's arms, who cradled her all the same. Blake's tears began to dampen Yang's jacket, but she didn't care. Yang was doing the same to Blake's shirt. They cried for Weiss, they cried for Ruby, and they cried at the whole injustice of this situation.

None of this was fair.

This should have never happened, but yet it did. And ultimately, it was none of their faults. Ruby couldn't have known what would happen when she broke up with Weiss. Weiss couldn't control her emotions properly, as she wasn't raised with the right way to do so. Yang and Blake couldn't have known what would happen when they left Weiss alone.

It wasn't fair.

Team RWBY lost track of time, as they wept for the state of their world. It could have minutes, hours, centuries, or seconds. Time didn't mean anything to them right now. Nothing else did, except for the bond all of them shared, and how it was nearly brought to ruin.

They wept.

They wept until they couldn't possibly cry even more. But they continued regardless. It was the only thing they could do.

Ruby could feel her lungs light on fire, as she couldn't breathe anymore. She was starved for breath, but she couldn't stop crying. There was no other way to express what she was feeling right now.

Weiss' eyes felt like they would melt, as they stung immensely at her onslaught of tears. But, she didn't stop crying. She couldn't fell anything else but profound sadness.

Blake could feel Yang crushing her arm, as she held onto her tighter and tighter. But, she wasn't crying from the pain. She was crying at the thought of losing anyone, especially her good friend.

Yang's shoulder blade was getting tender with irritation, as Blake couldn't stop shaking her head against Yang. The blonde girl didn't care. All she could do was cry, but not at the chaffing. Yang wept at her failure to help Weiss like she helped Ruby. If only she had stayed with Weiss, maybe this would've never happened at all. The idea of Weiss nearly dying and Ruby internally withering was too much to bear.

Tears flowed freely. Crying was the only thing Team RWBY could do in the face of failures.

Not a word was uttered. It wasn't even possible to do right now. Words couldn't even carry what they were felling. It was an emotion somewhere beyond pain, somewhere beyond plain sorrow. An emotion like that was almost indescribable.

Ruby was feeling absolutely drained from all the unfair tears. As she leaned back to rest herself, her grip didn't let up from Weiss. Weiss was pulled out of the tub, and she settled on Ruby's lap.

"I don't wanna lose you," Ruby breathed out quickly. She barely had enough air in her lungs to say that. But, that wouldn't stop her from saying what she truly felt.

Weiss somehow managed to say, "Me too,".

Ruby cupped Weiss' shaking face in her hands. Even if her eyes were now red and puffy, and nose drippings ran down her chin, Ruby still found Weiss beautiful. There was something about her worth protecting, something worth fighting for. She didn't care if Weiss soaked her clothes, or about the blood on her shirt, all Ruby could think about was how much she loved and cared about Weiss. Nearly losing her had put things back into perspective for Ruby. She needed Weiss as much as Weiss needed her. Without Weiss in her life… she wouldn't be sure what to do.

Slowly, Ruby moved her face closer and closer to Weiss. Her soft lips met with Weiss' trembling mouth. It wasn't just a kiss. It was a declaration of love, a declaration of why she fought on. It was all for her. Weiss deserved everything Ruby could give her, even if Weiss herself denied it. Weiss was as much a part of Ruby as much as the inverse was true.

Weiss was a little shocked by Ruby's kiss, but she quickly went along with it. The feeling of electric warmth shot up her spine, as Weiss eagerly accepted Ruby's mouth. Weiss' mouth opened up a little more, to offer her tongue to Ruby. The cloaked girl greedily intertwined her mouth with Weiss'. This was the perfect outlet for the both girl's passion and love for one another.

The embrace went on for another minute, as Weiss and Ruby lost themselves in their mutual adoration and love. Eventually, Ruby had to pull away to breathe deeply. She had enough trouble breathing with the crying, not just the kissing.

"I didn't want to lose that…" Ruby breezily admitted.

"Me to…" agreed Weiss.

Ruby, now remembering the naked state of Weiss, pulled her cloak around her to envelop the both of them. Weiss' decency was now protected, and the two of them felt much warmer under the red fabric. Weiss began to cuddle up against Ruby.

"I *wheeze* never wanted this to *pant* happen," Weiss sadly observed about herself.

"Neither did I," soothed Ruby.

Weiss lowered her head. Taking a few deep breaths, she meekly asked, "You don't… hate me?".

"No, no. I love you, Weiss. Nothing can change that," Ruby replied honestly. What would she have to gain by lying about it? She loved Weiss, plain and simple.

"Then why did you… you know…" Weiss couldn't finish her thought. To Ruby, however, it was obvious what she was going to ask about.

"I… I just wanted to help you. It wasn't right of me to do…" answered Ruby, depression filling her voice. Her downcast expression now matched Weiss'.

After a moment of thought, Weiss admitted, "It's my fault. I should've never put you in that place,".

"No! It's not your fault! You just need help! I swear, I'll get you help!" Ruby declared. She pulled Weiss closer to her chest. "All you need is some help…" she whispered.

"You'll h-help me?" Weiss whispered to her partner.

Ruby's voice cracked as she replied, "Uh-huh,". She nodded her head briefly, before pulling in Weiss' head to rest on her shoulder. No more words were needed in between the pair. Not that there was much more to say. All they needed to do was shed some tears for the truths they found in each other.

Yang and Blake, who had heard Weiss and Ruby's conversation, were both emotionally touched by the scene that played out in front of them. How could they not be? A declaration of love was laid out in front of them.

Throwing away her exterior for a moment, Yang exposed her bare emotions to Blake. "I… I l-love you, Blake," she tearfully admitted. As a couple, they didn't say that often. And, when they did, it was mostly out of sarcasm. But now, Yang truly meant every word of it.

Blake's eyes widened with shock as Yang's comment sunk in. It was an incredibly rare occurrence to hear Yang say that. Now, Blake felt she could lower her defenses, too. "I love you too… Oh, Yang!" she cried as she buried her head into Yang's chest. The two of them swayed back and forth as they stood in front of the bathroom doorway. Neither one of them wanted to trade that one moment for anything else. Their emotions were real, as real as Ruby and Weiss'.

Just like a diamond out of coal, or a gem discovered in the deepest, darkest mine, something beautiful was found through the sadness, past all the blinding pain. It was a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Team RWBY had endured long enough to see the end of their harrowing emotional journey. They had gone to where no one else should go, and they had survived long enough to find a ray of hope among the cloudy skies of sadness, uncertainty, and fear.

Now, Team RWBY began to shed tears, but these were not bitter, pitiable tears. These were tears of a different kind. Within them, they contained their dedication and joy for finding the real emotions within each other.

As long as the members of Team RWBY knew who they were and what they needed, they could take care of each other. That was the joy of their newly discovered truths. A relationship is never a one-way street. It takes a caring, loving partner to complete the picture that is a couple.

Love has been said to be undefinable. While that is true for the most part, one can define that it's definitely real. It's real enough to feel between two people. It's real enough to experience. The emotions felt make love real, and it is love that creates those emotions. So, maybe, just maybe, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang discovered a part of something intangible, something greater than themselves.

Team RWBY partook in that greater, elder thing. That's what made life worth living to all of them. It was all they needed in that moment.

Indeed, that's all they needed.